Keyboard

Claim 2

A keyboard for supplying instructions or data to a computer or the like said keyboard comprising an opaque panel having a plurality of transparent areas therein; a substrate; a plurality (n) of conductors formed on said substrate and having portions exposed to each one of said plurality of transparent areas whereby all of said conductors may be illuminated at each of said areas; and a number, not exceeding (n), of photo-sensitive elements formed on said substrate and associated with each of said transparent areas, each of said photo-sensitive elements being connected to selected ones of said conductors at each area so that the combination of conductors connected to photosensitive elements at each area are characteristic of that area whereby variation of the light passing through any one of the transparent areas enables a code combination of signals, characteristic of that transparent area, to be derived from the plurality of conductors.

Claim 3

A keyboard as claimed in claim 1 wherein the conductors are arranged in pairs, and each photo-sensitive element is arranged to interconnect two conductors forming a pair.

Claim 4

A keyboard as claimed in claim 1 and which includes a substrate assembly comprising a transparent substrate, a transparent conductive layer deposited on said substrate, an insulating layer deposited on said conducting layer, photo-sensitive elements inserted in apertures in said insulating layer, and conductive strips deposited on top of said insulating layer so as to by-pass selected photo-conductive elements.

Claim 5

A system as claimed in claim 1 and which includes a substrate assembly comprising a transparent substrate, a first conductor deposited on said substrate and a plurality of conductors also deposited on said substrate, the first conductor being arranged to pass under the plurality of conductors, and being separated from each of the plurality of conductors by either a photo-sensitive element or an insulating element, said first conductor being transparent at least in the regions where it is covered by a photo-sensitive element.

Claim 6

A keyboard as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the conductors is interrupted at a transparent area and each of the photo-sensitive elements is connected so as to bridge an interruption in a conductor.

Claim 7

A keyboard as claimed in claim 5 wherein all the conductors are interrupted and bridged with a photo-sensitive element at each of the transparent areas and including means for shunting a different combination of photo-sensitive elements at each of said areas.

Claim 8

A keyboard as claimed in claim 1 including a further conductor and in which each photo-sensitiveelement is arranged to connect said further conductorwith a respective one of the conductors in the said plurality of conductors.

Claim 9

A keyboard as claimed in claim 7, wherein said further conductor is a common conductive layer connected to the plurality of conductors by the photo-sensitive elements.

Claim 10

A keyboard control system for supplying instructions or data to a computer or the like, photo-sensitive element in combination: conductor with a substrate; conductor means formed on said substrate and defining a plurality of of input terminals for receiving an input potential and having a plurality of output terminals, said conductor means including a number of groups of photo-sensitive devices each group of which is located in a discrete area and a plurality of conductors connecting said input and said output terminals at least some of which conductors are connected through individual devices of said groups thereof between said inpuT and said output terminals such that within each of said areas there is a different combination of said devices through which said conductors are connected to such terminals; means for normally subjecting all of said areas to one level of illumination whereby a selected pattern of output potentials appears at said output terminals; and means for selectively subjecting each individual area to a level of illumination different from said one level whereby to alter said pattern of output potentials uniquely in accord with that different combination of said devices existing for each such individual area.

Claim 11

A keyboard control system for supplying instructions or data to a computer or the like, photo-sensitive element in combination: conductor with a substrate; conductor means formed on said substrate and defining a plurality of of input terminals for receiving an input potential and having a plurality of output terminals, said conductor means including a number of groups of photo-sensitive devices each group of which is located in a discrete area and a plurality of conductors connecting said input and said output terminals at least some of which conductors are connected through individual devices of said groups thereof between said inpuT and said output terminals such that within each of said areas there is a different combination of said devices through which said conductors are connected to such terminals; means for normally subjecting all of said areas to one level of illumination whereby a selected pattern of output potentials appears at said output terminals; and means for selectively subjecting each individual area to a level of illumination different from said one level whereby to alter said pattern of output potentials uniquely in accord with that different combination of said devices existing for each such individual area.